Clinton says a Romney win would be "calamitous"

Bill Clinton hoped to downplay his earlier compliments about Mitt Romney at a fundraiser at his home Monday night.

President Barack Obama will be holding joint fundraisers with former President Bill Clinton, starting with one on April 29, 2012. (Pool/AFP/Getty Images)

Bill Clinton was looking to downplay his complimentary words about Republican candidate Mitt Romney at an Obama fundraiser Monday night, calling a potential Romney presidency "calamitous for our country and the world," Politico reported.

The former President's jab at Romney came as he helped raise at least $3.6 million for Obama at three New York fundraisers this week, which took place in a private home, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, and at the New Amsterdam Theatre in Times Square respectively, the Associated Press reported.

The tickets for the private event, which was hosted by financier Marc Lasry, went for $40,000 each, according to MSNBC. Tickets to the 500-person gala at the Waldorf began at $2,500, and the New Amsterdam Theatre concert drew 1,700 people at a starting price of $250 per ticket, the Obama campaign told the AP.

Clinton did not refer to his interview on CNN last Thursday, when he said that Romney "had a sterling business career" and described his time as an executive at Bain Capital as "good work."

This week, however, Clinton — who has rallied behind Obama even though the President triumphed over his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2008 elections — went on the offensive in regards to Romney's track record as a politician.

"They tell you how terrible this health care bill is," Clinton said of the Republican party, according to MSNBC. "It's hard for them, since Gov. Romney's finest act as governor was to sign a bill with an individual mandate in it, which he has now renounced."

"They've got a nominee who is expressing support for an agenda that would reverse the progress we made and take us back to the exact same policies that got us into this process in the first place," Obama said Monday, according to the AP.

Despite Obama and Clinton's lingering rivalry, which has emerged most recently in their support of two opposing candidates in a New Jersey primary battle for the House, Clinton has proved to be an asset to the President's re-election efforts so far, The Hill reported.

And, as Politico's Maggie Haberman pointed out, "while some Obama supporters were frustrated with Clinton’s comments last week — they are almost guaranteed to end up in a Romney response ad on the Bain attacks — they kept the bickering to a minimum, in part out of the reality that the former president’s campaign skills and connection to the 'Hillary voters' who still elude the current president are crucial right now."